Fast National ratings for Thursday, March 16, 2006

March Madness got off to a decent start for CBS Thursday, but ABC pulled the big upset of the night with the premiere of "American Inventor."

The Simon Cowell-produced show for aspiring Edisons led ABC to a ratings win for the night, as the network averaged a 7.8 rating/13 share in primetime. CBS finished second at 7.3/12 (those numbers may change some due to its live hoops coverage). NBC was close behind in third at 7.0/11. There was a big drop from there to fourth-place FOX, 3.5/6, which was followed by The WB, 1.8/3, and UPN, 1.6/3.

ABC also led among adults 18-49 with a 4.7 rating. NBC was a close second in the key ad demographic, scoring a 4.5 to top CBS' 4.0. FOX averaged 2.3, The WB 1.1 and UPN 0.9.

The debut of "American Inventor" scored a surprisingly robust 8.4/14 for ABC at 8 p.m. CBS' coverage of the NCAA men's basketball tournament was second at 6.8/11. NBC took third with "Will & Grace," 6.2/10, and "Four Kings," 4.6/7. "That '70s Show," 3.6/6, and "The Loop," 3.0/5, put FOX in fourth. A "Smallville" rerun on The WB edged repeats of "Everybody Hates Chris" and "Love, Inc." on UPN.

At 9 p.m., "American Inventor" built on its first hour, averaging 9.2/15. CBS improved to 8.1/13 with more basketball. "My Name Is Earl," 6.7/10, and "The Office," 5.7/9, kept NBC in third. "The O.C." scored a 3.7/6 for FOX. "Supernatural" kept The WB ahead of UPN, which went with repeats of "Eve" and "Cuts."

NBC took the lead at 10 p.m. with "ER," 9.5/16. CBS' tournament coverage dipped to 6.8/10 but was still strong enough to beat ABC's "Primetime," 5.9/10.

Ratings information is taken from fast national data, which includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change, especially in the case of live telecasts.